The U.S. Navy is under scrutiny after a report by a government watchdog found that the military branch is spending hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars repairing warships that are spending less time at sea. According to the Government Accountability Office, from 2011 to 2020, operating and support costs across 10 ship classes studied increased by $2.5 billion, which includes a $1.2 billion bump in maintenance costs.
For the past six years, the USS Vicksburg has been sitting in a Norfolk, Virginia, shipyard as the Navy spent hundreds of millions of dollars to modernize the 567-foot missile cruiser.
It is unclear whether the USS Vicksburg will ever return to sea, as it is one of 11 vessels the Navy is asking Congress for permission to retire. Each year, the Navy gives a list of ships it hopes to retire to Congress, and this is not the first time the Vicksburg has been on it.
However, Congress does not make it easy for the Navy to get rid of old ships. Repair work means jobs at shipyards in members’ districts, and Congress wants the Navy to keep a high number of ships in its fleet regardless of condition as it races with China for naval superiority in the South Pacific.
The Vicksburg, which first launched in 1991, is more than 30 years old. Despite its bid to retire it, the Navy has already spent at least $175 million and awarded $500 million in contracts in its mission to update the 20th-century missile cruiser.
According to 2022 remarks by Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday, in order to meet President Biden’s national defense strategy, the Navy needs a fleet of more than 500 ships. As of April 2023, the Navy has 296 ships in its fleet.
